I do not own Fate/Stay Night nor any other Servants depicted here.
Revelation
Eddie looked to his side. His student, of all people, was the first to accost him. He would have expected another Servant. He continued on his way and stepped outside into the yard, paying no attention to her. Hurried steps echoed on the wood paneling behind him and he heard her ask, "Master, what are you doing here?"
By that time, Assassin was picking himself up off the ground. The fake priest glided over, intending to kill the Servant immediately.
"Assassin! Retreat!"
He frowned ever so slightly as the Servant complied and burst into black dust. He turned around slowly, watching as Assassin stood there in front of the opening in the glass with his sword ready. Then, more watchers appeared.
"Sakura, what is ha..." Rin trailed off as she caught sight of him.
"...the damned priest," Luvia growled.
"Assassin!" roared Saber as she stepped out next to her fellow Servant, "You dare intrude."
"We meet again, Saber," Eddie stated calmly and condescendingly, "Perhaps you should think of something else to call me. We wouldn't want you to get confused with the class itself."
"How dare..."
"Master... why are you doing this?" Sakura asked suddenly. A silence fell over their side.
"Surprising, for you to reveal it like this," he mused aloud, wondering what she was trying to do.
"...Don't tell me... this man... taught you? How to use... Imaginary Numbers?" stammered Rin in shock.
Luvia said nothing but glared with a frown at him.
"What did you do to her, you fiend?" Saber demanded fiercely.
"Nothing that wasn't there already, Saber," the fake priest replied as he pretended to relax his guard. Holding up his empty hands, he continued, "Tokiomi once said his wife's womb was too bountiful."
Both local girls froze.
"To have both children born with rare potential and talent. Both requiring the protection of a magus family. And so, he chose one for the Matou to adopt. It was an equal chance for either sister to be sent," he simply said with a shrug, "I read through his records after his passing. One having the talent for learning the five elements. The other having talent in Imaginary Numbers. I simply theorized that the second could use the shadows as well. A fruitful experiment, I must say."
"... I was just an... experiment...?" the younger girl muttered in shock.
"... Wait... what did he just say... both children...?" Luvia spluttered in surprise, taking a step back as she looked at the two other girls, "Both of you are sisters!?"
"What?" exclaimed Shirou, who had come up behind them, apparently catching the tail end of the conversation.
"Enough," Saber announced sternly, bringing everyone's attention to her, "We can discuss this later. For now, we have an intruder to address." Directing the attention to him, she said, "Kotomine, you dare attack, even knowing the presence of three Servants?"
"The War must continue," he replied as he moved his hands behind him, "You do remember the War, do you not?"
"The Grail is cursed," Assassin told him, "You should reconsider, mediator."
So... they know. Interesting. "But they still believe me to be the priest," he mused internally, "Now... what would he say about this?" The darkness receded, revealing his host body, clothed in his priest vestments. "The Grail has a will of its own. It deserves to act on it. So, it should be allowed to make its choice. Will it be for good? Or will it be for evil? That is the answer I wish to find," he proclaimed, presenting to them an eager face.
"You... you're mad!" retorted Rin angrily.
"Mad?" he repeated with a smirk, "Some would call it madness. After chatting with Caster? I call it clarity."
With a mental command, he sent out tendrils of shadow to ensnare everyone. Black tentacles binding their arms to their backs while ensnaring their legs amidst their cries of surprise and protest. While the Masters were entangled, the Servants were another matter. Saber started pulling and slashing away at them immediately. Assassin vanished and Eddie predicted an attack from behind. Just as the tip of the sword touched his back, a mass of snakes burst out, the snapping jaws pushing the Servant of Murder away. At the same time, the shadows embraced him, wrapping him up in them and making him resemble a copy of the Fourth War's Assassin. He turned around to face his Fifth War counterpart.
Suddenly, he found an arrow sticking out of his chest. His right hand moved to pull it out as his left put up some protection. At the same time, Archer appeared in the courtyard and his sword was blocked just in that instance. Similarly, Saber had extracted herself from the entanglement and was now charging him down. Hastily pulling out the arrow, he watched as it faded out of existence.
"A construct. I should have known," the fake priest thought as he flowed back to evade the invisible sword. He purposely collided into Assassin, who was moving in to strike as well, elbowing him in the chest. Turning around, he struck the Servant's stomach with a palm strike. Sensing another behind, he turned the other way to block. The white sword was faster and his right hand was chopped off as a result. Much to everyone else's shock, there was no blood.
A shadow creature appeared and quickly collected the extremity. In turn, a replacement formed and he was whole once more. Taking advantage of his opponents' shock, he dashed straight towards Saber. She was able to recover in time and attempted a thrusting stab, but he dodged it and punched her face. The force was able to tip her backward. He then was able to hook her leg and topple her on her back, followed by slamming his foot into her gut. The armor remained unblemished but he knew he had put enough power into it to affect her body. Her wide eyes and her gasping for breath affirmed his intent.
He then turned his attention to Archer, who returned to a relaxed stance full of openings. "You employ the same tactic against me?" he asked as he took on Zato's ready stance.
Archer remained silent for a moment, his eyes closed as if deep in thought. Then, he replied with, "Help me kill the boy, Emiya Shirou, and I will help you bring forth the Grail."
"What!? Archer, what is- mmph," Rin began to yell but was quickly silenced by an extended tendril wrapping around the bottom half of her face. The other Masters were given the same treatment, much to their shock.
"Archer, why..." groaned out Saber.
"Why do you remain hostile to the boy? There is no need for this," added Assassin as he eyed the fake priest and his fellow Servant warily.
"...An interesting proposal," he stated after some thought, wondering if there is some ploy Archer was doing. He took his foot off the other downed Servant and gave out an order, "Delay Assassin and I shall settle the boy."
"Archer," growled out the Servant of Murder as one in red began locking blades with him, "What is the meaning of this?"
The fake priest paid no heed to them, as he slowly walked towards the Masters, who began their struggling in earnest.
"You will not harm him!" roared Saber, having recovered from the shock of the previous attack. He ignored her but called up a multitude of shadow creatures between him and her as a delaying tactic... with lethal intent.
He reached the struggling boy at a leisurely pace and raised his hand, morphing it into a blade. "Farewell, Emiya Shirou. A pity that you are not the hero of this tale." He swung... but his hand was frozen mid-swing. Curious, he turned to look at the possible suspect.
True enough. The girl had summoned enough strength to break her hands out of her binds and stop his progress. Still, her hands, her outstretched arms, were shaking quite a bit. As if she could barely hold his hand back.
"Interesting..."
Quickly, he turned his body around the other way and dashed aside to avoid the slash of a sword, as he sensed the mob he summoned get cut down entirely. Thankfully, Sakura had released her hold on the hand and he was able to fight back. He also noticed that he was being hemmed in from all sides with Archer cutting him off and Assassin appearing in front of the boy.
"I see," he muttered, now understanding the misleading tactic of the Servant of the Bow.
"Now!" shouted Archer.
All three of them converged on him, weapons raised. He bent over a little as if to accept their attacks, but immediately arched back as draconic snakes burst out of his body, jaws snapping and hissing as they intercepted the weapons and threw back the attackers. Slipping through the space he created, Eddie went up to the closest Servant. Smacking the face with a hammer fist, he then plunged his hand into Archer's chest. Unfortunately, before he could destroy the core, he had to withdraw his hand and glide away to evade the invisible blade. Nonetheless, he was quite sure that the damage was irreparable.
"Hmm, it is done. I doubt he will have long to live, even as an Archer," he mused to himself as he sank into his own shadow, "Soon, the War will be over, and I will learn of my next purpose in this world."
As Kirei disappeared into his shadow, the bindings went too.
"Archer!" yelled Rin as she rushed over to her Servant's side.
Archer was clutching his profusely bleeding chest after having fallen to his knees. His other arm propped him up, his knuckles pressing into the ground. "This... I guess... this is it..." he said as he sent a wry smile to his Master, "Even if I... conserve mana, my core is too damaged... Even being an Archer... I can probably... only last the night."
"Archer..." Shirou muttered as the other three caught up with them. At the sight of him, the bleeding Servant went back to frowning.
"You... I guess I can't, ugh, stop you after all," he stated sternly, grunting in pain.
"Why are you still being hostile to him?" asked Assassin.
"Still asking why?" he replied, his breathing finally under control and the flow of blood slowly turning sluggish,"I can't accept him. He can't accept me. That's all."
"There has to be more to it," supported Saber, "Such hostility could only come from knowing him very well and you were only summoned for this War."
"Hmph, you assume correctly, but..."
"Archer, what are you hiding from us?" asked the Tohsaka sternly.
He looked around at the faces of the people and Servants surrounding him. He sighed and confessed, "This is not my timeline. The Fifth Holy Grail War I knew had Heroic Spirits that had ascended to the Throne of Heroes as Servants. The Servants here are different. Servants whose histories that I do not recognize. Edelfelt being present. The enforcer still alive. This is not the War I knew."
"And now you are talking in riddles. Get to the point," demanded the aforementioned blonde.
He spared a stony glance at her and continued as he got to his feet, "And yet, some things remained the same. The boy's hollow ideals, for one."
"It isn't wrong to help people!" Shirou retorted quickly.
"...It's that kind of thinking that started all this," he growled out, "That made me regret having those ideals in the first place."
"...Made you regret?" repeated Rin in surprise, "Wait... but how..."
"You were always the smarter one," Archer stated dryly, "Indeed. What you figured out is right. I am Emiya Shirou. Though, I suppose you can say, an alternate version."
"That still does not answer why, Archer," Saber pressed on, "Are you not the pinnacle of Shirou's ideals? Why would you reject him?'
"Unlike you, I didn't become a Heroic Spirit entirely on my own merits," he explained, "I became one after becoming a Counter Guardian."
"A Guardian?" the Servant of the Sword repeated in surprise, "I heard that after their deaths, Guardians become a Counter Force to protect humanity. Even if your circumstances differ, you are a Heroic Spirit regardless."
"That's where you're mistaken, Saber," he corrected, "Guardians don't protect humanity. They're simply cleaners."
"Archer..." muttered Rin.
"Yes, I did become a hero," he then agreed, "Just as the man called Emiya Shirou always wished, I became a true hero of justice."
"Senpai..." whispered Sakura.
"And that is exactly how I know that it was a mistake," summed up the Servant in red, "That his life had absolutely no value."
"No value?"
"None," he replied to Saber, "You of all people should know that. You, who wants to change the past, to take back her decisions, more than anything."
"Saber?" said Shirou in a questioning tone.
"You would have me tell them my wish?" she muttered. Turning to the others, she explained, "Shirou... everyone... I wanted to use the Grail to reverse a decision I made. A mistake that I made. I will alter the fated destruction of Britain. That is why I wanted to win the Grail. Because I did not live up to my ideals. I should not have become king."
"Does Noel know of this?" asked Assassin.
"She does. She has tried to dissuade me from my wish... but I still believe I am undeserving of being king," she reasoned. But, she turned back to Archer and said, "You still have yet to answer the question. Why do you reject him?"
"Because... because those ideals gave me nothing but regrets," he said as he looked to the ground, "After becoming a Guardian, I fought those who would disrupt the world's balance. Obeying my orders, I killed. And killed. And just kept killing. I killed so many, I ceased to care. For every life I took, I saved thousands. I fought again and again, whenever I was called upon. Again. And again. And again... But there was no end to it. It never ended. It wasn't as if I dreamed of a world free of fighting. I just didn't want anyone to cry in the world I knew. That's when it finally hit... the ideal that Shirou Emiya embraced was shallow."
Then, he looked up at them and continued, "It's impossible to save everyone. Saving the many means leaving the few to perish. Saving as many people as possible is what a hero of justice does, is it not? And so, still wishing for no one to die, I would have one person die for the sake of many. Even as I said that I couldn't let anyone be sad, ultimately I drove more than a few to despair. This is the true identity of the Heroic Spirit Emiya. Don't you think that if such a person died, the world would be a better place?"
For a moment, there was silence. No one could muster up a rebuttal to his little speech. Then...
"Archer, you said that this was not your timeline," said Sakura bravely, "Then... then the Emiya Shirou here is different than the man you talked about. He is not you."
"And how would you know that? Would you know what would happen to him in five years? Ten years?" countered the former, "In the end, he will become me. All because of those ideals. You can't expect anyone to understand someone who is willing to lay down his life for others. They will betray him and drag him to his death."
"He won't," protested Sakura, "I... I know it. He promised..."
"Do you honestly think he can hold on to-"
"I can try."
At those three words, everyone turned to the boy who spoke up.
"I have always wanted to help people," he began to explain, "I promised my dad that I would become a hero in his place. A hero who could save everyone. I still do. But... ever since being involved in the War, I began to realize that... there are people who care for me. Really care. That they will support me in pursuing my ideals as long as I don't take it too far." As he said that, he looked to everyone around him. Saber stood there stoically, nodding slightly. Assassin did the same. Rin smirked as she crossed her arms in front. Luvia smiled and tossed her hair a bit while having her other hand against her waist. Sakura blushed and averted her eyes, also smiling.
"And right here, you are showing me what happens when I do," he continued as he locked eyes with Archer's eyes, which was full of contempt, "If you are asking me to give up my ideals or even end my own life, I refuse. I will not give them up, even if they are impossible. And... I will certainly have no regrets. Unlike you. I refuse to end up like you."
"And that is why you will end up like me," the Servant in red countered. "Trace on," he chanted, summoning the twin swords to his hands, causing the rest to be on their guard. Blue motes of light started peeling off him as he continued, "It is that kind of thinking that started all this. This is why I need to end this now."
"Masters, please step back," Assassin ordered as he readied his blade.
"Archer, you should reconsider," Saber told him while on guard herself, "You are already low on mana and your core is damaged. If you persist, you will vanish."
"Even if I am at my limits, I will not back down," he replied as he stood in open stance, "It will not take long for me to kill him."
"Saber, Assassin. Let me fight him," Shirou suddenly spoke up as he stepped past them, "This is a fight I need to have. Thank you for your support, everyone."
"Trace on," he chanted as he mirrored the swords Archer held. The others slowly moved back, the Servants standing in front protectively over the remaining three Masters.
"Can you truly keep up?" asked the Servant of the Bow, "If your precision is even slightly off, you will die."
"Senpai," called out Sakura, "Can you really win this?"
"Yes... I can," the boy replied wilfully as he glanced back at her, "I must." With that, both Emiya's charged at each other, clashing blades.
Ryuudou Temple was quite empty. After the discovery of the wrecked road as well as a burnt out body that was later identified as Kuzuki Souichirou, the police closed the road and asked the residents of the temple to move to a safer location. This saved Eddie some much needed time and effort to make the Ryuudou family and the monks there leave it. While the former Servant was out attempting to kill off another Servant, the newly remade Shinji decided to wander around the place. He had never been there before and went about satisfying his curiosity for the whole day.
It was in the evening he discovered the forest trail that exited the back of the temple and encircled a large lake.
"Hmm, this should be an interesting place," he muttered as his mind entertained the possibility, "As large as the temple is, it is still too small for it... Not after what was shown to me."
The book has seen it. He has seen it. A manifestation of the grandest order. It needs a large enough area for it. Indeed, the temple was way too small. Even now, the heart strained against his shell, to break out, to exist in the real world. but he was too strong. No. Now was not the time. The suitable area was indeed here. However, the time was not. The next night. That would suffice. Then, he could take out the heart and whatever that was left of his weak flesh would sustain it long enough for it to feed itself.
"Patience, oh my beating heart," he sang out with a certain gleefulness, "Your time will come. Soon. Very soon."
"What are you doing, Matou Shinji?"
He turned around to face the fake priest. "Nothing much. Just finding the appropriate place for the big reveal of the Grail," he declared as he gestured to the lake, "Isn't it a wondrous thing? A pity it must be destroyed to make way for greatness."
"And the heart?" queried Eddie.
"Bursting with power," he replied with a grin, "It cannot wait to unleash itself onto the world. No, not yet. But, we can do it tomorrow. Tomorrow night would be best."
"...I suppose you are correct in that assumption," agreed the former Servant after a thought, "Drawing too much attention will undo this far too easily, after the lengths we went through to eliminate the Servants."
"That reminds me, did you kill one tonight?" he asked.
"Somewhat. He will not survive the night."
"I see. Well now, time to rest and recuperate," announced the Matou gleefully, "Tomorrow, we need to draw plans to account for every possibility. The Grail will be made manifest. I must witness it, after all."
The sounds of metal crashing against metal echoed through the air. The three girls watched on worriedly as Shirou and Archer clashed again and again. In front of them, Saber and Assassin looked on after having agreed not to interfere. The boy seemed to be barely holding; every blade he made broke after a few trades with Archer's swords, but the degradation of the Servant's body has increased as well. Miniscule bits of him floated away from him at a steady pace.
"Do you really think you're on my level?" the Servant in red asked as their weapons clashed for the umpteenth time, "Your projections may look the same, but if you can't sympathize with it, then they're just empty shells."
"Damn it!" Shirou shouted as he fought back with renewed vigor.
"Assassin, did you notice it?" asked Saber after the two opposing forces went back to trading blows, "The differences were small, but his swordplay is slowly improving."
"I see it," affirmed the masked Servant as the boy successfully fended off an attack for the first time, "Maybe Archer's weakened state is giving him the chance to adapt."
"Now I get it. So that is how you are keeping up," said Servant declared after stepping back, "I've heard of magecraft that enables you to master old skills by communing with past selves and letting them possess you. Everytime our blades clash, your skills are being honed."
"No kidding... then I guess we're both copycats," replied Shirou, "Keep talking. I'll catch up to you soon enough."
"Catch up to me? That is where you're wrong," stated the former as he lunged forward, their blades crashing into each other, "You never had the slightest chance of winning!"
"Is he right?" asked Rin worriedly, glancing furtively over at Sakura who was keeping a terrified watch over the red head, "Will Archer still win even if his experience is slowly being passed on to Emiya-kun?
"It is hard to say," replied Saber, "The question that should be answered is who will give out first: Shirou's inexperience or Archer's mana?"
A pair of blades broke and Shirou was sent tumbling on the ground, staring at Archer.
"Judging by your face, that pathetic expression that says you're about to vomit, you saw it, didn't you?" the one in red asked, "That simplifies things then. Everything you saw is true, Emiya Shirou. I was sent to the gallows, accused of starting a war, betrayed by those who were saved. That is what 'catching up to me' will get you."
Sakura gasped in horror. Luvia and Rin grit their teeth and took a step back in their shock. Assassin said nothing, but closed his eyes and tilted his head down as he sighed. Saber kept up her stoic watch.
"Maybe, you should see it again with your own eyes," Archer said his degradation suddenly intensified, "The world where I ended up-urk!"
He fell on one knee, clutching his chest, the wound dealt to him by the 'supposed' Kotomine Kirei. "Damn it!" he raged through his teeth, "If only I had... more time." He glared at the boy in front of him, still on the ground with his eyes locked on him. "You... urgh... one day... one day, I will... stop you... then, not even... argh... Avalon can save you..." he declared as he finally faded out of existence.
Everyone didn't move a muscle for a few seconds. Then, Sakura asked, "Senpai... are you alright?"
"I... don't know," admitted Shirou as he slowly got to his feet, "I'm glad I was able to survive this but... I cannot help feeling sorry for him too. He had so much regret..."
"...Please..." she pleaded, "I hope you won't become him."
"I won't," he stated as he turned to face everyone, "I will not end up like him. I promise."
Commentary:-
Hello again and welcome! We have interesting things of mention here. Very interesting things. Of course, the title of this chapter pretty much hinted at this. But, now that many things are out in the open, what is the four Master alliance going to do? Former sisters, shadow masters and future guardians. It's going to get a little convoluted in the morning. Plus, now that we are down to two Servants, I believe we are in the home stretch. One more day until the War is over. Getting a little dicey.
Don't forget to leave a review after reading. If you would kindly do so? My deepest thanks.